027: Rick Ridgeway/At The Edge Of The Cliff

“We’re in business to be an agent of environmental change.”

I’ve had a few heroes on the Looking Sideways Action Sports podcast, but Rick Ridgeway, my guest for episode 027, might just top the lot.

Rick Ridgeway first attained legendary status as a climber, mountaineer, explorer, sailor and adventurer. He was part of the first American party to summit K2, made the first coast-to-coast traverse of Borneo and has an endless list of similarly impressive achievements embellishing his adventure CV. He has also been a writer, film-maker, director and producer.

Rick and Yvon

Today, he is Vice President of Public Engagement at Patagonia, a company he’s been associated with since the start thanks to his lifelong friendship with founder Yvon Chouinard. What this means practically is that Rick is one of the key forces behind Patagonia’s environmental campaigns and activism, from Worn Wear, to the recent anti-Trump campaign, spending his time raising awareness about the grave environmental crises we face.

How nature and wildness can influence an individual’s own core values and sense of mortality and humbleness.

This one was a real privilege, a chance to spend an hour with one of the outdoor world’s true innovators and visionary thinkers, and I hope you enjoy listening to the wisdom of this wonderfully articulate and generous orator as much as I did. Don’t miss it.